Most cosmetic compacts contain cosmetic materials in solid, paste or powder form. Compacts for applying more mobile liquid cosmetics are known, but can be cumbersome to use. It can be particularly inconvenient when the liquid cosmetic is stored in a container having a separate removable stopper or cap. This requires the user to set aside or separately hold the stopper when using the compact. This can be messy and inconvenient, as well as risking loss of the stopper.
JP2004208973 describes a cosmetic compact for dispensing a liquid cosmetic product without the need to remove a separate stopper from the liquid cosmetic container, thus reducing the possibility of staining a user's hands. The cosmetic compact comprises a main body having an inner lid, an outer lid and a base connected by a hinge. The base of the compact comprises a recess to contain a cosmetic puff and a further recess as a reservoir for dispensed liquid cosmetics. The liquid cosmetic product is supplied from a tubular container equipped with a pump-type dispenser. The outer lid is coupled with the inner lid so as to enclose the tubular container. A pushbutton of the pump type dispenser is exposed in an opening in the outer lid. On pressing the pushbutton, the liquid cosmetic product is dispensed into the reservoir recess, for uptake on the puff.
JP2004208975 describes an otherwise similar cosmetic compact in which the liquid cosmetic product is automatically dispensed from the tubular container into the reservoir when the lid is opened. Variants include a compact with a pump type dispenser having a nozzle for dispensing the liquid product directly onto a hand held sponge. The nozzle has a separate cover. In another variant, a squeeze-to-empty product container hinges out of the base of the compact and has a dispensing passageway leading to an uptake reservoir which also serves as a recess for storing a removable sponge.
Despite the advantages offered by JP2004208973 and JP2004208975 by removing the need for a separate stopper, the compacts shown are complex, having many components. Even manufacturing a container with a separate removable stopper for holding the liquid cosmetic product requires additional process steps compared to compacts for solid cosmetics or pastes. This represents an additional cost. Even small savings in the cost of manufacturing an individual compact are significant in mass production.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,397, JP2002336039 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,447 all concern compacts in which a container for a liquid cosmetic product is closed by a stopper integrated into the structure of the compact. However the disclosed compacts still leave room for improvement in terms of ease of manufacture and use.
The present applicant has realised that hingedly connecting the stopper of the liquid cosmetic container with the compact eliminates the disadvantages of having to remove and separately retain the stopper and can simplify the manufacturing process by limiting the number of components needed. Such a compact can also include an applicator sponge, puff, brush, mirror and/or other tools and accessories of the usual kind.